MANILA, Philippines–Instead of making the rounds of communities to defend themselves against allegations that they pocketed huge sums in public funds, senators charged with plunder should apologize to the public, according to a Catholic priest.
“They should seek forgiveness from the people [who voted for them] and return the money they stole [from the national coffers],” Fr. Edu Gariguez, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines National Secretariat for Social Action (CBCP-Nassa), said in an interview with reporters.
Gariguez particularly took a swipe at Sen. Bong Revilla, among those charged with plunder and graft over the P10-billion pork barrel scam, for going around thanking fans and supporters and defending himself against allegations that he misused his pork barrel.
No sense of shame
The official of the CBCP-Nassa said the country’s politicians nowadays, especially those implicated in the pork barrel controversy, seemed to have lost their sense of shame even if evidence against them was glaring.
“It’s not only the sense of shame but they also seem to lack conscience. We have come to a point that our politicians are no longer bothered by their conscience and their only goal is not to get caught by using anything at their disposal,” Gariguez added.
Revilla recently went around Cavite province and Metro Manila to thank those who voted for him and to clear his name from charges that he benefited from the pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.
‘Desperate’
Gariguez described Revilla’s recent move as “desperate,” saying that the senator was using his popularity to save face.
He said it was a shame if Revilla was indeed guilty and he still had the guts to go around to defend himself.
“It’s a desperate move because he knows what his ace is and that is his popularity. He knows he has mass appeal that’s why he is using it to defend himself,” said the priest.